Today’s How To’sday by Liz Qualman is super cute – I will certainly be trying this one myself!

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Merry Christmas! Have you done a lot of baking and need to share the goodies with some with your friends and neighbors before you eat them all yourself? Why not deliver them in a special container to hold all of the delectable creations? I found this snowman shaped box at my local grocery store (on sale since it was so close to Christmas). It was already somewhat decorated, but I decided to make it even more adorable by recovering it with one of my favorite holiday collections from Simple Stories called Handmade Holidays (how fitting).

I chose two pieces of patterned paper to line the outside of the box. Then I measured and cut the strips of paper, matching up patterns where I could since it took more than one strip to go around the box. Then I used a tape runner and glue gun to adhere the paper to the box. I would recommend using something like Modge Podge to seal the paper to the box in order to make it more durable and ready for a second use.

To recreate the design, I used a plain piece of copy paper to trace some of the elements on the box and then cut them out as a pattern. Then I used the pattern to trace on the papers I selected to fit my own style. Pop dots on the buttons and part of the scarf make the design more fun and dimensional.

Finally I added some sentiments with cardstock stickers from Simple Stories Handmade Collection. This will be a fun gift for a neighbor or a friend.

Hope you have a safe and wonderful holiday week!

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Liz, thank you so much for sharing with us today! This is such a cute idea – perfect for any neighbour gift! I just wanted to say a big thank you to Liz for being a part of our Fall Design Team – you have shown us so many wonderful things over the last three months. We hope to see you around the community and on our Facebook page.

If you have an idea that you would like to share as a How To’sday tutorial, please send your photos and directions to ksharrock@steals.com.

Have a great day and be sure to stop by tomorrow for some inspiration!

The Bo Bunny Grab Bagis jam-packed with all the Bo Bunny goodness you could possibly want! I received a mix of collections, with trinkets, brads, flowers and more. This week’s Monday Craft Madness theme is:

Use metal!

I chose to make a Christmas gift for a friend. The papers and trinkets worked out perfectly for me!

I started off by altering a plain wooden box. The Bo Bunny papers, with a little inking on the egdes worked so well together. A sentiment stamp, the trinkets and some plain ribbon just finished it off! I also inked and used some different Bo Bunny papers for the inside.

I then made a very simple journal. It was a plain paper mache journal that I inked and decorated with the Bo Bunny Papers and trinket. I used a border punch for the decorative edge and some sentiment tickets to finish it off.

I hope I have inspired you to use metal on your projects this week. It can be anything from trinkets, metal keys, brads – the possibilities are endless! Just remember to have fun!

If you’d like to enter to win the December Monday Craft Madness prize:

Create a project (a card, layout, altered project, or any other craft your heart desires) using any of our weekly themes! You have until the last Thursday of the month to create your project and upload a photo of it somewhere online. Just include a link to this post in your photo’s caption. To enter to win, simply leave a comment on our blog with the link to your project ! We’ll choose a random winner and they’ll be the lucky recipient of a $20 ScrapbookSteals.com gift code at the end of the month!

Just note that this is separate from Mid Week Mojo, so you’ll have at least two fun projects a week you can dive into.

Don’t forget to check back in with us tomorrow for a fun How To’sday post by Design Team member Liz Qualman!

I love what Fall Design Team member Julie Koets has done with today’s steal, the Lifestyle Crafts It Kit. Julie worked it! This is definitely going in my ‘steal’ cart today!

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I was thrilled when I was asked to work with the Lifestyle Crafts It Kits. The tags kit that I was asked to feature had 16 different tags that are easily cut using any die-cutting machine. These kits are perfect for all paper crafters and will take your projects to new levels!

Keeping things simple, I first set out to make a quick card using the scalloped half circle to showcase my sentiment.

I tried another card, this time using four of the different dies. The dark red paper was cut using one of the dies, along with the strip under my sentiment that I cut from balsa wood. The tree is even made from three of the scalloped half circles that I folded and layered into a tree shape and the trunk was cut using a small rectangle die.

For my final project, I wanted to showcase as many of the dies as possible and add some life to a two page layout. The banner die made it super easy to cut my title banner. All of the shapes used to embellish this layout (with the exception of two strips of paper) were cut using dies from the tags kit.

It’s hard to believe, but my term on the Scrapbook Steals design team has officially come to an end. I was lucky to work with other talented ladies and was thrilled to work with such great products. Big thanks to ScrapbookSteals for letting this “ordinary fan” be part of such an amazing team. I can’t wait to see who will get to inspire us for the Winter Design Team!

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Julie – I love all of the projects you have made over your DT term! You make it all look so easy! I just want to say a huge thank you for everything you have done and we hope to still see you on the blog and on Facebook in the future.

Thanks for stopping by everyone and be sure to tune in again on Monday for a new Monday Craft Madness!

Today’s How To’sday by Julie Koets is a definite must read! It’s quite simple but is such a great idea. I will certainly be trying this one myself!

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I have always been a fan of woodgrain pattern and love the rustic feel that it lends to my projects. Did you know that you can add actual wood to your cards and layouts without adding weight and bulk? Balsa wood is one of the lightest varieties of wood available and is sold in sheets at craft and hobby stores. I bought a sheet of balsa that measured 4 inches by 24 inches and then cut it down into small sections to use with my Big Shot embossing and die cutting machine.

Because the wood is super thin, it can be cut with scissors or a craft knife. It tends to split easily along the grain, so handle with care.

After the image is embossed, you can add ink to bring out the details.

The embossed background adds great texture to cards or layouts without adding additional weight.

Balsa wood can also be cut using shape dies. If you have alpha dies, you could easily use balsa wood to cut your own dimensional title letters.

Again, I inked the edges and adhered to a card to add additional dimension and texture.

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Julie, thank you so much for sharing with us today! The embossing and distressing on the balsa wood looks amazing!

If you have an idea that you would like to share as a How To’sday tutorial, please send your photos and directions to ksharrock@steals.com.

Now we have one matter of business to take care of, and that is announcing the winner of the December ScrapbookSteals.com Blog Hop! Our lucky random winner comes to us from the blog of Alice Carman. The random winner of the $20.00 gift code to the ScrapbookSteals.com store is Kelly Holifield! Congrats Kelly. Please email angie@steals.com and we’ll send you your code. We hope you have fun doing a little shopping and that you will share what you create!

Thank you to everyone for participating! Have a great day and be sure to stop by tomorrow for our next installment in the Mid Week Mojo Jade series!

Today’s How To’sday by Amy Coose shows you just how quick and easy it can be to make simple Christmas gift tags! They’re perfect for using all those scraps of paper you’ve been hoarding!

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Hey there, I am so happy to be popping onto the blog today with a quick technique share. We’ve all seen the Christmas trees created from different strips of paper, which is an awesome way to use up those scraps. I decided I would create a set of tags inspired by the strips of paper. Here’s what I created.

First I gathered my supplies, some Christmas themed papers along with some more neutral papers.

Then I stamped a pattern on my tag bases.

I created the tree tag first. I just cut each strip a bit smaller than the last.

I used a pencil to lightly draw a triangle for my stitching, added a star and some glitter and it was finished.

For my second tag, I started by cutting several strips down to 1 1/2 inches, then drew a circle on the tag to use as a guide.

Then I created the wreath shape just glueing down the end at the center. When I had it completed, I stitched around the center, and curled up the ends just a bit.

My third tag might be my favorite. I used more 1 1/2 inch pieces and just glued them down the middle of the tag. Then I lightly sketched a star to use as a guide for my stitching.

Here is another look at the final project.

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed my project!

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Amy – thank you so much for sharing with us today! The tags look great and I love the fact that it is nice and simple to do!

If you have an idea that you would like to share as a How To’sday tutorial, please send your photos and directions to ksharrock@steals.com.

Have a great day and be sure to stop by tomorrow for our next installment in the Mid Week Mojo Jade series!